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Airline fined for carrying Mexican cat

AN airline has been fined £1,800 for carrying a Mexican cat, following an investigation by the Vale of Glamorgan Council's trading standards team.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines was prosecuted at Cardiff Magistrates Court on Thursday, June 13, for offences under the Rabies (Importation of Dogs, Cats and other Mammals) Order 1974 and the Non-Commercial Movement of Pet Animals Order 2011.

The Vale of Glamorgan Council’s prosecutor Richard Price stated KLM were found guilty of carrying a cat originating from Mexico on a non-approved aircraft carrier and landing the cat at Cardiff Airport, which is not permitted to receive pet animals.

The cat was found to be travelling on an invalid pet passport and there were discrepancies over its rabies vaccination and identification.

KLM was fined £1,800 and ordered to pay costs of £3,000 and a victim surcharge of £120.

Principal trading standards officer Christina Roberts-Kinsey said: “This is another fine example of the good work undertaken by our animal health officers in the Vale of Glamorgan.

"Without trading standards' intervention, the possibility of a rabies outbreak could have been catastrophic.”

Happily, the cat (called Misha) has been successfully reunited with her owners.

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